20 Ideas for Family Traditions to Build Christian Family Culture

When it comes to creating strong family culture, what you repeat as a family is what builds up that foundation. What you repeat shows what you value. This is where family traditions come in as a key part of your toolbox as a family. Through family traditions, you have an easy tool of repetition that reinforces your values.

Family traditions are recurring activities and behaviors that best represent your identity as a family. They can vary through different seasons of life because they’re simply tools of your existing culture.

If you are ready to jump into ideas for traditions you want to implement, take a look at the categories below for key areas to consider. Circle ideas from the list that stand out to you or use the list as a starting point for inspiration.

FAMILY TRADITIONS IDEAS

These four categories for family traditions are essential areas to have one tradition from each. They help round out your family identity and provide meaningful opportunities for connection.

CONNECTION FAMILY TRADITIONS

• Pass the Notes. Buy a notebook that gets passed back and forth between family members to share notes, encouragement, and stories between each other. For families still at home, try hiding the notebook around the house, so the next person who finds it has to write and hide it again.
• Affirmation Time. Hold a regular compliment night where everyone shares words of affirmation for each other.
• Causes We Love. Set a regular tradition where you can all be externally focused around supporting a cause you love. It could be a day of service, a time of prayer, or even picking a day to give financially.
• Tell the Story. Pick a night at least twice a year where you practice telling the family stories and sharing reflections on them. Delegate responsibility for a different person to tell a story each time, or if you have young children, invite them to tell portions with you.
• The Family Feast. Hold a regular feast night where you plan a special menu, cook together, and even add in decorations and fun games or entertainment. Put phones away for the time and connect. Depending on the ages of your children, you can invite them into the process of planning or helping create the elements.

SPIRITUAL FAMILY TRADITIONS

• Scripture Memorization. Set a tradition around memorizing scripture as a family. Pick one verse for the year (or interval that best fits your current stage) and challenge everyone to memorize it and find ways to integrate into life.
• Family Bibles. Pass on Bibles that have been in your family, or if you don’t have access to those, share the stories related to them. Talk about scripture versions you grew up with or memories you have. Commission the next family member to save up and pass on the Bible and their own.
• The Family Blessing: Create a prayer of blessing that you use as a family during significant moments.
• Sabbath Candle Tradition. Beyond the habits of rest, traditions can help cement the idea of Sabbath in your family’s life. Light a special candle on Sundays while you pray together as a family. For adult children, you could purchase candles for everyone and set a time where you all commit to pray.
• On the Move Night. Pick a regular time as a family where you share how God has been on the move in your life that year (or the interval of time you’re meeting at.) Celebrate how God has showed up and document the prayer requests met.

MILESTONE FAMILY TRADITIONS

• Faith Firsts. Choose special milestones in your family’s faith to honor, like a milestone of verses memorized, sharing the gospel for the first time, leading family devotion for the first time, etc. Create a special way to recognize this like a designed card that memorializes the date or adding it to your family book of milestones.
• Big Win Night. Hold an annual night (or interval that works best for you) as a family to celebrate big wins for each individual. It’s an important way to honor family members' achievements outside of typical milestones. Go all in with your celebration– create homemade trophies to be passed on each year, make favorite foods, print out silly certificates etc.
• Graduation. Whether school graduation or simply graduation into new stages of life, create traditions that make space to honor these significant moments. Hold a sending off party where everyone brings a prayer for the new season and a word of affirmation.
• Leading the Vision. On an annual basis, review your family’s vision statement together and log the victories you’ve accomplished. Create a book or a digital shared document that you add these milestones to, or a visual display that represents these, and look back each year on what happened.
• Rite of Passage. Choose a time that marks your child’s rite of passage into adulthood and hold a ceremony where you will pray for them, review new ways they can contribute to family meetings, provide words of encouragement for their calling, and celebrate together.

HOLIDAYS/SEASONS TRADITIONS

• The Fun Holiday. Look up funny holidays or “national day of…” and find one you all want to celebrate. (ie. National Opposite Day, Grilled Cheese Day, Goof Off Day, etc.)
• Celebrate Mom and Dad’s wedding anniversary. Make it a time to hear the story of how they met, challenges they overcame, memories from the wedding.
• Christmas Random Generosity Challenge. Give everyone a set amount of cash that they have to give away by Christmas and come back to share the story of what they did.
• Arrival of Favorite Season. Decide on a time of year you all want to celebrate (spring, fall, etc.) and set traditions you do to ring in the new season such as special foods you make, an activity you go do, a way you serve, etc.
• Easter Testimonies. Focus on the theme of resurrection and use Easter as a time to share your testimonies of salvation, where God has worked in your lives.

FAMILY TRADITIONS SET THE FOUNDATION FOR STRONG FAMILY

Now that you have a few ideas to inspire you, don’t delay on getting things into motion. The whole point is progress over perfection. A strong family won’t be built by waiting until you have the absolute perfect plan. Start with the little wins and keep learning and adapting over time.

As an easy next step, try this approach:

1. Circle ideas that stand out to you from the list above.
2. Discuss and narrow it down to 2 that you want to try and implement this month.
3. Write down those two ideas and then write down 3 action items you would need to do in order to put those traditions into motion. (ie. Set a date for testimony night, share instructions with kids, etc.)
4. Implement! Test and see how it goes.
5. Learn. Discuss any observations of what you want to do differently next time.

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If you want to get more clarity on how to build these lasting foundations for your family, we want to equip you with the tools for this journey! Check out The 7 Generation Family Legacy study which will guide you through creating your core values, vision, and mission as a family– a foundation that will help set the tone for all you do.